She believed she could, so she did

First impressions of Borneo

We arrived in Kuching, Borneo on the 29th Monday afternoon, albeit a bit tired from no sleep and a long layover in Singapore but we made it!!

The first thing I noticed while flying over Borneo before landingwas the dense rainforest and the numerous high mountains. Jessie and I had our noses to the window in the plane trying to absorb all the sights. All through the rainforests and towns/villages there were rivers just winding around providing nutrients to the the dense foliage. We have found out that it is very common between Decemeber to February for flooding and many Kampungs(villages) will be cut off as the area is very hilly.

We were told prior to arriving that they celebrate with food. This is so true! The food here is amazing!! They feed you A LOT, but yet it doesn’t feel sickening. They use local food straight from the garden while only using rice. I have yet to be served pasta or bread while staying in the Homestay. Even on bush walks it is common for the locals to pick leaves that look like weeds and then encourage us to try it. I have tried ones that taste like mustard and also a lemony flavour but I definitely wouldn’t recommend picking up any random weeds!

Also while travelling around it has become very evident that everyone here is very friendly! At dinner time our host father will constantly pour our drinks, grab us extra cutlery, and clean up afterwards. It is very different to Australia as we come from a very individualistic culture. When we host dinner or parties it is common for it to be self-serve food and drinks. Another contrast is their sense of community. Where I live there is 600+ students and I only know about 50 students but yet I don’t even know the names of the people living below or above me, only the ones I live with.

We have started to knuckle down on our Marketing Plan for the Krokong Homestay while also sanding and varnishing the church pews for their new church (we are some pretty good carpenters!). I shall be posting a whole lot of photos when I return back down under!

“Experience is not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you.” – Aldous Haxley